Glenn beck's ratings fall again; he invades poland

It feels good, the schadenfreude.

Glenn Beck, the strutting, double-chinned, conspiracy spooger (KTTH m-f, 6-9a) seems to be on a roll... downhill.

His teevee ratings have dropped, dropped again and dropped again.

This, despite Fox News is still the 4th most-watched cable station in prime time. As reported by Business Insider's Glynnis MacNicol:

Year over year [Beck] posted the biggest loss of any cable news show averaging 1.8 million viewers, down 39% from January 2010. In 25-54 demo he dropped 48%, to 397,000.

His ratings have dropped in Seattle this year as well.

Could it be his message? Could it be his sweater? Wouldn't be surprised either way. We've been watching FNS again, to see the right-wing take on the Egyption uprising, and how soon they'll blame it on President Obama. We were amazed at how, er, far afield Beck has gone since last time we checked.

At the chalkboard with his fat wattle jiggling like a teevee evangelist's, Beck pant-hoots daily that the Egyptian crisis is just part of a “coming insurrection” that will engulf the North African Mediterranean countries, Southern Europe, then, he frets, Russia and China.

This will transpire because of the unholy alliance of 1960's Marxists (including Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn) The New World Order crowd (read Jews) and radical Islamists (Shia and Sunni!). President Obama, by Glenn's lights fits into all these categorie.

The mission: to destroy Western civilization, and then... establish a new caliphate—an Islamic theocracy. The ’60s radicals are working with the Islamists because they're so craven they'll go along with the theocracy part to get the satisfaction of seeing Western civilization fall. 

Unless he flames out spectacularly, (a drunk, a fatal gaffe, a heart attack, God forbid) Glenn Beck will never go away, as we'd prefer: There'll always be people willing to suspend brain activity to bath their lobes in the dopamine that Beck administers so confidentally.

Some think he's the Anti Christ, (you haven't made it in America if somebody hasn't claimed you're the AC). Others think he's Hitler.

We can't take him even close to that seriously. Glenn Beck's a self-described rodeo clown and hardworking FM Morning Zoo jock who made it really, really big. He hasn't got a political base, he's got listeners. There's a difference. And, in radio and teevee all bad things (like good things) must come to an end...

Glenn Beck will not invade Poland.

Comments

[Andrew]

he's the boy who cried wolf... though quite a bit more wealthy.

[Caleb the Comedian]

i believe Joanie is the Anti-Christ. hey, relax it's just one of my jokes in the Vegas act. the peeps at my shows can't get enough of the Joanie material.

[Bill]

The more 'out there' Beck's theories go, the more I actually enjoy him. Look, he's said himself that he doesn't care about the political process, he's an entertainer wanting to make bucket loads of cash....which he's very good at.

Beck believes 5% of the batshit-crazy things he says, and only wants you patronize his sponsors and buy survival seeds, safes, yummy bunker food and gold. He offers no solutions but merely wishes to criticize in an effort to ensure the problems he addresses are never solved, because if they were solved, he'd be out of a job."

Fear sells. He's a marketing genius....a sleazy genius, but a genius nonetheless.

[joanie]

Five percent is still too much and I thought he'd lost his sponsors.

And a genius - just because he's found an audience that likes his brand of idiotic coomedy?

Call him a "comedian" if you think he's that; but, a genius? Come on.

I think it is a late good sign that his audience is diminishing. Perhaps as people become unemployed and scrape the bottom of their own financial barrels, they are finding him less amusing.

[joanie]

And not everybody is as sane as you are, Bill. Some people watch and listen to him and Rush every day and the message gets repeated over and over and otherwise know better start to believe it. That's why it is called propaganda.

Although I agree, Beck is more of a clown than Rush.

[Bill]

Oh, I don't want to minimize his bad influence on the sheep that follow him....

But he IS brilliant when it comes to tying all of his fear driven dribble into marketing. EVERYTHING he says he somehow ties to a sponsor, a book, a premium membership, a stage show etc. I'm only commenting on the genius approach to selling his sycophants on his 'products'...that's all.

[JDB]

The interesting thing is that nothing Beck says is original. That is why he is sounding even more insane than usual with Egypt. He is just repeating the same things that the Bircher's railed about in the 60s before saner heads drove them out of the Republican Party (Yes, there was once a time when there were grown ups in the Republican Party, thank you Dan Evans).

The problem is, while you could at least make some case for over powering communist expansion circa 1962, it just doesn't work today. Do Glen is stuck mixing up Islamist, 60s-radicals that haven't done anything but write books and give lectures for nearly 40-years, and normal political demonstrations. To make this work, he has to be alarmed that students and/or labor are demonstrating in Europe (as if this has never happen in the last 60 years), that people might get upset with dictators, and that brown people might want democracy.

In Beck's very little world, this is possible, as when you ignore history, you can ignore everything. However, it does put him in the position of 1) being against people striving for democracy, 2) in favor of dictators, and 3) making stuff up to support his world view. The absolutely most hilarious thing about any Beck broadcast is that he does what he claims Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn are doing. The scary part is that while a few people care about what Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn, millions of Conservatives actually believe what Beck is saying.

While Beck's numbers are down, proving that the American public is not stupid, it is a shame that so few on the far right have the maturity or common sense to call him out for his fear mongering and un-American hysteria. When ever one talks about Beck (or Palin, Bachmann, Limbaugh etc. etc), one must ask him or herself "What ever happened to the Adults in the Republican Party? Is power so important to them that they are willing to gain it on a platform of lies and fear?" Democracy is better with two sides having an honest debate. Sadly, the Republicans have allowed people like Beck to control the conversation, giving them some short term success, but condemning them to repeat the same errors that nearly destroyed the party in the 50s and the 60s.

[Progressive Blog Junkie]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say his numbers were down because of...

A. The election is over.

B. More people are working.

C. Like the article says, he is not someone who one would go to get the news of whats happening somewhere in the world.

D. The winter storms back east have the children playing their XBOX and Playstations leaving the parents to listen to the radio or read a book.

[Progressive Blog Junkie]

Speaking of weather. Anyone catch Al Gore's response to O'Rally attack on global warming. Another reality the right will never understand.

[Bill]

Wow....JDB need to be a famous blogger. I've never heard someone sum up the right's problems so well in 4 short paragraphs.

Kudos....nicely done!

[Right Leaning and Right]

Did anybody see Hannity last night, Where he told the controversial Imam Anjem Choudary: "You're a sick, miserable, evil SOB" and where the Imam says to Hannity that America should "be worried that Islam is coming to your backyard."

[tigsnort]

Oh, I don't want to minimize his bad influence on the sheep that follow him....

But he IS brilliant when it comes to tying all of his fear driven dribble into marketing.

It doesn't require brillance or genius, just a lack of personal ethics and a boss who shares your ideological extremism and refuses to fire you.

[The Anti-Dori]

Funny Leaner. What would you say to someone who called you a sick, evil, miserable SOB?

I agree, great post JOB!

[Right Leaning and Right]

Go to Mediaite and give it a listen. It is there for you to judge.
(I would say that they are probably a good judge of character, LOL)

[Andrew]

I really do hope that Beck's declining appeal means conservatives are becoming less racist, and warming to a new reality in which we welcome the election of non-white presidents. Beck went from CNN nobody to Fox News superstar in a matter of months; the months following the inauguration of President Obama. His viewers were scared, and many of them didn't even know why. I'd like to think they're becoming more brave and turning away from Beck. I want to believe conservatives are smart enough to recognize that equality is an American value, and having a black president is the ultimate manifestation of American values, not far behind ensuring that all Americans have access to health care when they become sick.

[Coiler]

It means more of them are starving and eating each other like the Donner Party.

[tigsnort]

Beck's evangelical-preacher-cum-conspiracy-nut act was novel for awhile, but I think he's boring to tears what's left of the reasonably sane part of audience. He has settled into a very gloomy, doomy, one-note performance every night. Even wingnuts get sick of incessant repetition at some point.

[joanie]

I agree, Tig. I also think the massacre in Arizona put a damper on emotions. Perhaps people are seeing themselves in the vitriol and fearmongering perpetuated by their and just maybe some of them don't like it much.

A lot of intersecting events have probably led to this and all of them are mentioned above. I wasn't crazy about the SOTU speech but it did show the country a calm and reasonable President. I don't see or hear as much bigotry online as I did. Maybe things are improving.

And god only knows, the sight of Egypt's turmoil reinforces the notion that we don't want that here.

And speaking of Egypt, Kristof said that it may be that the government doesn't want the world to see what it is up to and is detaining journalists for that reason. I think all the countries of the world should keep up fly-overs to just keep an eye on things. That might deter some of the violence. Just an idea.

[P. Smith]

My goodness! All of you on this site have such high regard for your own "intelligence;" its really quiet amusing. Thanks for the laughs.